Memory problems are a common complaint in the affective disorders. In prior work reported by Dr. Weingartner of the Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology, it was established that some of the memory deficits in depression were alleviated by treatment with the catecholamine enhancing drug, amphetamine. In addition, it was observed that memory performance could be improved by providing an information structure for the data that was to be memorized. These results suggested that a deficit in the central motivational state of depressed subjects might account for their performance problems. To further explore this possibility, an indirect method was devised for the measurement of motivational state based on performance on a motor task. Motor performance and cognitive function were then examined in depressed patients and controls. Increasing severity of depression was strongly associated with decrements in performance in both motor and memory tasks. Greatest depression-related impairment was found in those cognitive and motor tasks that required sustained effort.